Learn To Love
by dodge-a-turtle
Summary: Present time. Rose wants to learn to love. Can she find the right someone to help her do that? Someone other than her boyfriend? Rated T for later. on hiatus
1. Chapter 1

**I'd like to thank my co-writer for her help with the story**

**enjoy !**

"I love you, Rose." He leaned in for a quick kiss.

Ugh, here we go.

"I love you, too, Cal." Umm, how about no. Caledon Hockley is the boyfriend everyone dreams of having. Everyone except poor old me.

My mother has always had this strange thought I would end up never marrying. It's not that I won't even marry, it's that the school I go to, St. John's high school, doesn't have any men I could potentially marry. I'm seventeen years old, for God's sake. Right now, I just want to have a loving boyfriend who I _actually_ like, not Cal. Mother goes to a country club with some friends, who happen to be Caledon's parents. When our parents met, they knew right away we'd be "perfect for each other." However, I'd rather be dirt poor than be with Cal.

Cal got up from his cafeteria lunch seat and quickly left, heading towards his fifth period class. I am so lucky we have no classes together. Cal almost made the change so he could be in all my classes, but I put on a seductive look and said we'd have time alone later on, after school. Even though that time has never happened before, I keep promising him it will.

Me, Rose Dewitt-Bukkater, just wants regular love. Not forced love, but actual love, love. I know my mother doesn't want me to end up being alone, but there has to be at least one guy in New York City that is suitable for me. Just one. I hope. I've lived here all my life, or at least from what I can remember from my life.

I put my head in my hands and just sighed. I was so tired of just trying to pretend to love Cal. I hate lying, in fact, my mother and I are very close, and so I don't know why it should be such a problem to tell her the truth about my feelings for Cal.

"Rose, you okay?" My best friend, Samantha, looked at me with worry. When I first moved here, I had to move in the middle of the school year, January to be exact. When my mother took me to pre-school, I was all alone, until I met Sam. Ever since then, we've been inseparable.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking."

"About Cal?" This girl could read my mind, I swear.

Sam knows all about how I feel about Cal. Sometime I'll call her in the middle of the night, just complaining about Cal. Her parents don't live with her, Sam moved out this August, just a month ago, to her own place, just down the street from my apartment. She and her parents don't really get along, so Sam thought it would be best to leave and be on her own. So I will quite often just go over to talk with her, or I'll call.

"Yes, Sam, I can't stand it anymore. Cal's nice, I'll admit that much, but we're not meant for each other, you know?"

Sam nodded, all her attention focused on me.

"But what can I do right?" I picked up my stuff. Sam looked like she might say something, but she held it in, whatever it was.

I started to walk towards the door, with Sam right beside me. Okay, now I really wanted to know what she was going to say, she had a look on her face.

"What?" I asked.

"See that guy over there?" She nodded towards a table of guys. I nodded my head at her.

"He's been staring at you all lunch." She said, skipping off to her next class leaving me hanging.

-x-

"Thank you, Rose. You can take a seat now." I made my way back to my seat after my presentation on endangered animals. Sometimes being a senior can be too easy!

Mr. Kennedy gave us new seats. So now instead of sitting beside Sam, I sit beside a guy named Jack. He's pretty quiet, and he just came to this school for the first time this year, so I think he's kind of shy.

I sat down and turned my attention towards the front of the class while Jack got up and did his presentation. I didn't get to hear what it was about because Sam gave me a piece of paper.

"Read it-quick," she hissed, trying to be quiet.

I glanced up at the front to see the teacher looking at Jack, who was talking about photosynthesis. I unfolded the paper, trying to not make it crinkle.

_Jackyour admirer_

That was all it said. I turned around and gave Sam a look that meant I didn't understand.

"Remember, at lunch?" She said, smiling.

"Oh." Was all I could say.

When I turned around again, Jack was finished his presentation and was starting to head back to his seat beside me. I tried not to look at him; I really didn't want to give him the wrong idea. I mean, if he _did_ like me, Cal would find out soon. Cal treats things he "loves" as though they are possessions. That also includes me. He even gets angry with me sometimes. That's the side of Cal you don't want to see.

The rest of the class went by slowly. I kept feeling as though this guy, Jack's eyes were on me all the time. Three o'clock came by at last, and we were free to go. I went to my locker, which is two down by whom else, Jack. I groaned inwardly as I tried not to look at him. This was hard.

Jack had amazingly blue eyes. They looked so kind, as though he was happy 24/7. He's dirty blonde hair was pushed back of his face, and his hair smelt good, even from two lockers down. I tried to sneak a peek at him once more before I left for home, but I felt a tap on my shoulder, followed by the smell of Cal. He smells nice; it's just not my kind of nice.

"Rose, dear, how was your day?" Cal's deep, soothing voice was heard after the kiss.

I turned around and forced a smile. I really didn't want to have another take on last week's argument. Last Friday I didn't give Cal a smile and he said it was disrespectful and I should be ashamed of myself. I tried to apologize, but he wouldn't accept it unless I spent the weekend with him and his friends at his parents' country club. I also had a test Monday morning which I did horribly on, and I had no time to study and prepare for it.

"It was fine Cal," I said, standing on my toes to kiss his cheek.

"Would you like a ride today?" Cal always insisted I ride with him instead of going with Sam.

"No, no, I'm okay to walk, Sam had something important she wanted to talk about anyway," I said, hoping he would allow it.

"Of course, Rose. I'll call you tonight," Cal said, before turning to go up the hall to his locker.

I let out I sigh of relief, I hated lying. Whatever I had to do, I was going to do it. I wanted to be alone this afternoon, Cal free. I wanted to not think, just relax. It was always impress Cal, and I was tired of it.

Sam and I made our way down the hall to the parking lot. She was going on about Jeff, her boyfriend of six months. I tuned her out, just for a moment, as someone was looking at me. Again. Jack. Why was he so fixed on me? Does he like me? Does he-

"Rose!" Sam said. "Are you listening?"

My head snapped in her direction. "Oh, yeah, sorry Sam. I was just…thinking."

"Well it must have been important…"

"Yeah, it was. Well, let's go." I grabbed her arm and we made our way home.

It was a quiet ride in the car, but luckily the ride is no longer than ten minutes, so the radio made the time go by. In no time I was being dropped off at my house.

"See ya Sam! I call tonight, okay?" I said.

"Yeah, okay Rose. Talk to you tonight," she said, smiling at she rolled up the window and drove up the street.

I waved good bye as she drove up the street, and then walked up the front steps. Our huge double door was unlocked, to my surprise, as my father was overseas for work, and my mother was usually at her job until six. Carefully, I walked in and hung up my light coat. I peaked around into the living room, to see nobody.

"Hello?" I asked. "Anyone home?"

I could hear someone walking upstairs. The person was coming down the long, spiral staircase. I guess you could say we were the upper class compared to some people.

I looked up to see my mother coming down the stairs. "Rose, I hope I didn't startle you."

"Oh, no Mom, it's ok."

"I was actually hoping to catch you before I left…" My mother trailed off. Behind her she had a suitcase and a couple duffle bags.

"Leaving?" I asked, surprised.

"You know your cousin, Lorraine, right?"

I paused, the name sounded familiar, but most of our family lived in Europe. "No, I don't remember if I do."

"Oh, well, she had just got divorce and is very upset about it. So I will be going to Seattle for two weeks," Mother said. All I did was nod. I don't really remember my cousin, Lorraine, as crazy as that sounds. As she began to get her bags, I walked up the stairs to help her, ignoring her comments about not helping her. Once the taxi was here, we put the bags in the back of the car seat and my mother got in, waving as the taxi car drove off.

I sighed as I ran a hand through my red hair. Just like her to leave when I wanted to talk to her. She set me up with Cal, and I wanted to tell her it wasn't going to work out. If I just break up with Cal now, she'd be extremely disappointed I didn't talk to her about it first.

I decided to have something to eat before I do my homework, which usually takes an hour so to finish. I walked into the kitchen and got an apple and a glass of water. After I finished, I threw the apple away and put the glass in the sink before walking upstairs to my room.

My room is fairly large, with a walk in closet and a private bathroom for myself. Mom said I was old enough to have a bathroom of my own, as long as I kept it clean. I walked into my bathroom, turning the shower on. I quickly decided I wanted to relax before I did my homework, so I ran a bath and put some relaxing aromatherapy bath oil in it. Mom and Dad bought me a bath set in the summer, which included a whole assortment of sops, shampoos, conditioners, and bath oils. So far, I've only used a bit, I wanted to save it for a long time.

Once the bath was finished running, I stepped out of my clothes and took out the hair clips I used to pin my hair half up, half down. The water was warm, and the aroma coming from the water was so soothing. I sat down in the bath tub, which was huge, and just closed my eyes. I wonder why mom left so quickly, usually she at least tells me before she's all packed and ready to go. Oh well, maybe I can have Sam over tomorrow night, a girls night on a Saturday sounded welcoming, something I could tell I needed badly.

I spent a good half hour in the tub, just soaking and letting my worries wash away. I drained the tub and put on my bath robe. I picked up my dirty clothes and replaced those ones with some fresh clothes. I walked back into my bathroom after I dressed and brushed my fiery red curls. They smelt nice, like vanilla, the shampoo I used had a vanilla aroma.

I left the bathroom and made my way downstairs, going to the kitchen table and getting a start on my homework. There was less than usual, I got it finished in a half hour. I got up from the table and looked at the clock; six o'clock. I went over to the stove and put a pot of water on to boil. I reached into the cupboard and got the spaghetti pasta out. I took a handful and put it into the now salted, boiling water. I let it cook until I was satisfied, and strained it. I grabbed my favorite pasta and opened the jar. I poured just enough sauce on the pasta and got the pasta out of the pot onto my plate.

After I had finished my favorite meal, I heard the phone ringing. I walked down the hall to pick it up. The caller ID said it was Sam.

"Hey, Sam. What's up?" I asked.

"Hey, Rose. Nothing much, I was just finishing dinner and thought I'd call." Sam said.

"Same here. Hey, what are you doing tonight? Want to come over and watch a movie?"

"Sure, I'll be over in ten minutes. Is that okay?" Sam asked.

"See you then," I said, putting down the phone.

I walked over to our television set and got out some movies. I smiled as I saw the movie _Titanic_, Sam's favorite. I put the other movies away, knowing Sam would want to watch this one.

Ten minutes passed and I heard the doorbell ring. I walked to the front and let Sam in.

"Hey, Rose, what movie are we going to watch?" She asked.

"How about you pick," I said, smiling as I already knew the answer.

Sam grinned, "_Titanic_?"

"Let's go," I said, leading the way.


	2. Chapter 2

-1After Sam and I finished the movie, we sat in silence for a few minutes. I thought about Cal. Like always, I questioned my reasons for being with him. One, he _was_ good looking, I couldn't doubt that one. Second, he was charming. He had girls falling over him all over the school, yet he was never rude to them. He also has never cheated on me. I respect him for that. It seems that cheating on someone is the latest thing to do, but Cal isn't like that.

He couldn't do everything perfect though. He really doesn't love me; I can see that in his eyes. I think Cal doesn't know how to love. Neither does his father, so there's so similarities there. Cal's dad is very fake. He cares only about himself, then if he has time, his wife. Cal is the same. He makes sure he comes first, then I do. I see people walking in the halls, couples walking in the halls. I notice that the boyfriend always opens doors, hugs his girlfriend…things like that. I notice the little things, the little things I want Cal to do for me. All I get is a quick kiss and an I love you he doesn't mean.

I could hear Sam sigh beside me, and that's all it took me to bring me back to reality. I turned my head to look at her.

"What?" I asked.

"You know what we need? A party."

"A party? Sam, I'm not sure I want a party."

"Oh, come on, Rose! Think about it, your parents are gone, so perfect. And it's not like our friends are going to trash the place. We're too old to do that stuff now."

I gave it thought. Maybe just a few friends, and the people I know are too sophisticated to trash a house. I needed a chance to just… unwind.

"Well, it couldn't hurt." I said.

Sam let out a little scream and hugged me. "Believe me Rose, this is just what you need."

-x-

"Okay, Rose, should I get the soda, or you?" Sam asked. Sam had spent the night since we wanted to have the party the next day, Saturday. Sam made me stay up half the night, planning for this party.

"Umm, well I could get it I guess."

"Rose, relax, I wouldn't convince you to do this unless I knew you would enjoy it." Sam said.

I sighed and put down the balloons I was tying together. Last night after the movie, Sam and I went to the store to get some things before stores got busy with the early Saturday rush. We got some decorations for the party; but luckily I stopped Sam before she went too overboard. We also bought some chips; Sam insisted it was no party without chips. Soda, and some juice to make a fruit punch. Then we bought some plates, napkins and cups.

Sam thought it was hysterical when I bought some large garbage bags. "If you expect me to leave my house as a mess after, then you obviously don't know me," I said, laughing too.

Sam then stood up and she walked towards the cabinet, where we had put the soda. She took them out, about two of the big bottles, and then put it in the fridge.

"Sam, there is no need to put all of the soda in there," I said, standing up from the table I was sitting at. "There won't be many people." Sam shut the door and turned towards me, smiling sweetly.

"And how do you know that?"

"Because I'm in charge of the party and there will only be a few people," I said.

"Aww, but Roooose!" Sam whined, carrying the 'o' in my name. I rolled my eyes. "What about me? It was my idea to have the party!"

"But it's _my_ house," I said. Sam put her hands on her hips and gave me a puppy dog look.

"But…"

"No."

"But…"

"No."

"But…"

"I said no, Sam!"

"Fine!" Sam huffed and turned her back towards me, crossing her arms. I rolled my eyes again and ignored her, going back to tying the balloons.

-x-

I had no idea who was coming, but Sam assured me it was just a few of our closest friends, Cal, and Sam's boyfriend, Tommy Ryan, who was going to bring a friend, too.

"They are all coming at eight Rose," Sam said.

"Okay, I'll go get ready now. You can have the guest room to change and such." I wanted to have time to get ready, about two hours and it was six now.

"Okay, see you in a bit." Sam replied.

I made my way upstairs to my bedroom. I decided to have a shower first, and then I would decide my outfit and how I would have my hair. I stepped into the bathroom, turning on the hot water as I walked past the shower. After removing my clothes, I walked into the almost too hot water, letting it pour over my hair and sooth my muscles. Grabbing my honey vanilla shampoo, I ran my hands through my hair, letting the aroma fill the room. The softening conditioner was of the same scent.

After I used my body wash from my grandmother in Philadelphia and rinsed, I stepped out of the shower into the now steamy, muggy bathroom. I dried off using my terry cloth towels and wrapped a towel around my thick red curls. I went to my closest, trying to decide for an outfit.

"Sam! Could you come here!" I yelled, knowing Sam could help me choose.

A moment later Sam came to the room in her pink bathrobe. "Yeah?" she said.

"Which one," I said, holding up two dresses.

The first dress was a strapless, white dress with green and blue circle patterns on it from Bloomingdales. I loved the dress as people have said it complements my eyes, which are green. That said, one thing I did not like about it was the fact I always felt it was falling down. Also, I could barely walk in it for the first hour or so, as it was tightly fitting and took an hour or so for the material to loosen up.

The second dress was a dress no one had seen yet. I kept it for a special occasion, and though this party may not be a huge deal, I was just dying to wear it. Sam let out a quiet gasp as I pulled the dress out of its cover. The dress was made of light, flowing pink silk, layer on top of layer. It had cap sleeves, with a v-neck front. The dress was knee length, and so soft. I thought it was a bit dressy now looking at it, but it seemed Sam had made her decision.

"That one!" She screeched, pointing a the pink dress. "It's gorgeous!"

I smiled, knowing it definitely was beautiful. I put the dress down on my bed, then went to go change into clean underwear. Sam then left the room to go change into her own outfit.

I pulled the dress on, letting the silk flow everywhere. It was one of the softest things I have ever tried on, and was also one of my favorite outfits. I walked over to my desk, which I used as a make-up and hair table. I took my paddle brush, pulling it through the now damp curls. In the mirror I checked my curls to see how they were as they can get messy at times. Satisfied with how they looked, I decided to go for a half-up, half-down look. Taking my butterfly clip, I pinned half of my curls up, letting the others hang down on my shoulders.

I took my brown eyeliner, tracing my eye in the warm brown color. I then took my white eye shadow, dabbing it in the corner of my eye and below my eyebrow to lighten up my eyes. I then took my lengthening mascara, applying it lightly to my eye lashes. Happy with the eyes, I went on putting a light pink blush to my cheeks, finishing off with my dark red lip stick. I wasn't sure how well the lipstick would go with the dress, but surprisingly it matched.

Before leaving my room, I put a few sprays of perfume on, breathing in the light, fruity scent.

I met Sam out in the hall. Her blue striped shirt complemented her stick straight blonde hair. It also made her piercing blue eyes seem that much sharper. On the bottom she had knee length black leggings, as the shirt came halfway down her thigh.

"You look beautiful, Sam!" I said.

She smiled. "You too!"

"Lets go finish setting up, people should be here soon." I said.

She grabbed my arm enthusiastically as we walked down the stairs.


	3. Chapter 3

"Sam! You said ten to twelve people! There's like, twenty here now! And look, more are just arriving!" I was furious with Sam, and I knew a party was a bad idea.

Sam was mad, too. "I'm sorry Rose, but I had no idea this many people were coming," she said.

It was only eight thirty, just a little while since the party had started. They were all on the main floor, and luckily I knew everyone. And so far there wasn't a mess, thank goodness. I was glad I bought extra napkins and Styrofoam cups, they would be needed.

Just then Sam's boyfriend of six months, Tommy Ryan walked up behind Sam and tapped her on the shoulder. "Wanna dance?" he asked her.

Sam eyed me out of the corner of her eye. "Go ahead! I'll lock the door so no one else can come in."

"Thanks Rose, talk to you in a bit." She said before skipping off with Tommy. About eight other couples were in the living room, which was being used as a dance floor. Tommy and Sam wedged themselves in to the middle, starting to dance to a popular slow song.

I could see Cal come through the door just as I was walking over to lock it.

"Hey Sweet Pea," he said in his usual deep voice.

"Hey, glad you could make it." I said, even though I didn't mean it.

"Well don't you look gorgeous! That dress looks great!" He said, almost sucking up to me so I could give him affection.

"Thanks," I replied, putting on a small smile.

He looked over past my shoulder to a group of people. "Well, I'm going to o talk to them, okay?" I nodded and he quickly kissed my cheek before walking over to the group of guys.

I sighed as I grabbed a cup and filled it with punch. _So much for a small party… _

"Rose!" I could hear Sam say over the sound of the music. I spun around to talk to her.

"Hey, having fun?" I asked her.

"Yes, which is more than you can say… what's wrong?"

"Ugh, I don't know. Maybe this party was a bad idea." I said, putting my hand up to my temple. I get stressed out easily, which causes me to have headaches.

"Okay, Rose, chill. You're so tense all the time! You need to relax, have a good time! And I'm going to do everything I can to make sure you do. See Tommy?" she asked. I turned myself around to look in his direction and nodded my head. "Well he brought a few of his friends along, why don't you go greet them."

"Okay, fine." I said, putting my glass down. I made my way over to the group of three guys.

"Hey, Tommy." I said as I walked over to the group.

He turned around. "Hey, Rose. I'd like you to meet my friends. This is Fabrizio, and this is Jack."

Jack leaned forward to shake my hand. His deep blue eyes stared into my green ones. His blonde hair fell over his eyes and he took his hand to push it back up. "Hey, Jack Dawson. I'm from Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin."

"Rose Dewitt-Bukkater, nice to meet you." I said, smiling as I shook his hand. _This is the guy that was staring at me in school_, I thought to myself.

Jack laughed. "You're gonna have to write that one down for me."

"Will do," I said, smiling. I turned towards the other guy, who looked Italian.

"Fabrizio." The other guy said, his English not that great.

"Nice to meet you," I said, smiling at him.

"Fabri is from Italy. He just moved here a couple weeks ago before school started." Tommy said.

"Well, glad to meet you both, I'll probably see you later." I said, smiling once more.

"Bye," Tommy and Jack said. Fabrizio just waved.

I walked back towards the table. Everything still seemed in order, and we had enough of everything. I went over to the front door and closed it then locked it. Now people wouldn't be able to get in, but if someone wanted to leave, they could.

Cal walked up behind me and grabbed my waist. "AHHH!" I screamed, startled.

He laughed, "Sorry, hon. Didn't mean to scare ya."

"Hmm, yeah I'm sure." I said, mad at him. He always does stuff like that, and I _hate_ it.

"What's the matter with you?" He asked.

"Nothing. Nothing at all."

Cal got a look of anger on his face. "What the hell is up with you lately? You never seem to care about me anymore. Or us, as a couple. Why?" He yelled.

"Because, Cal, I'm done. Done of your buying my affections and done with feeling like you own me."

Cal's face turned red with anger. "Fine, come talk this over with me later. Or should we wait til your not so PMS-y?"

"Whatever Cal, we'll talk about this later."

Cal stormed off and went to go complain to his "friends". I walked over to Sam, who was looking at me with a questioning look.

"What was that all about?" She asked when I walked over.

I sighed. "Cal and I just had a fight. I finally told him I'm pissed with how he treats me and he got angry. We're going to talk it through later," I said.

"Are you okay?" Sam said, raising her voice as a louder song came up on the stereo.

"I'm fine," I said. I even smiled to re-assure her.

"Well, come on! Lets go dance. Who says just because you're hosting the party doesn't mean you can't have fun," she said, smiling and dragging me onto the dance floor.

We started to move to the beat of the song, which was by Madonna.

"I love this song," Sam said.

"I don't listen to Madonna much anymore," I said. "Just lost interest. She's good though, I'll admit that."

"Yeah." Sam said, smiling.

"I'm going to go get some punch, okay?" I said after a few minutes, leaving Sam on the dance floor.

I walked over to the refreshments table seeing Jack getting some punch. "Would you like some?" He said, holding out a filled glass.

"Thanks," I said, smiling as I took the glass.

"So, you're going out with that Cal guy, eh?" He said.

"Ugh, yes." I said.

"Well you don't seem happy 'bout that."

"Cal is not like everyone else. He's… old fashioned. Thinks that men own their women."

"Ahh. I see."

"Yeah, we had a fight earlier 'cause I just snapped. I couldn't take it anymore."

"What did he say?"

"He said we're going to talk about it later."

"Oh, well good luck with that."

"But why am I telling you this? I don't know you and you don't know me…"

"Rose, I was ju-" He said, but I cut him off.

"No, it's not okay. It was rude actually. I should have never told you about my personal life. I have to go," I said, walking off by myself.

I walked into my bedroom. I walked over to the bed and sat down, leaving the door open. I lay down on my bed, laying my head on the soft, silk pillows. I closed my eyes.

"Well, well, well Rose. I see you have a new boyfriend already." I voice said, and then after I heard the door close.

I opened my eyes. "Cal?"

"Yes."

"Wh-wha-what are you doing?" I said, stuttering.

"I saw you with that new kid, Rose." He said.

"Jack? I just met him tonight… what does Jack have to do with this?" I said, now sitting up.

"He has everything to do with this Rose. You are mine, not his."

"Cal open the door and let me out."

"I can't do that, Rose."

"I said, let me out!"

"No." He said, before walking over to me. "Rose, oh Rose, you're mine now."

"Cal? What the hell are you doing?"

"What I've wanted to do for a long time. Something you don't want to do."

"Get your hands off me!" I said, but Cal just tightened his grip on my arms and pushed me down. He leaned in closer to me. I could smell the alcohol.

"You've been drinking!" I said, now frightened.

"So? It'll just make this nicer. Booze and sex, nice combo, don't you think?"

"Get your hands off of me!" I yelled.

But Cal wasn't listening. He just help me down harder. I could hear the bass of the music downstairs. _Damn it, _I thought. _No one will hear me!_

"HELP!" I yelled.

"Rose, shut up."

"HELP!" I yelled, louder this time.

Cal was getting more forceful now. He was pulling the covers off the bed while holding me down.

"Help." I said, even though it only came out as a whisper.

**A/N: Hey guys. Finally! Chapter three is up. I'm a liar though. I told some people it would be up about two weeks ago, but I was busy, and I thought I wasn't going to be. But here it is. I hope you like it! **

**Reviews are the best things in the world, did you know that?**

**Also, my co-writer did not help on this chapter, she was busy doing other things, but I hope she will be able to help for the next chapters.**

**Thanks!**


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